EMOTIONAL TWADDLE (Emotionally Weird - Kate Atkinson)

Member Name: thingywhatsit

Product:	Emotionally Weird - Kate Atkinson
Date:	01/05/06 (153 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None at all.

Disadvantages: Words for the sake of words.

I am a pretty easily pleased reader. I like a good storyline, and a well written text that is not only believable but that pulls me into interaction between characters. Typically, of the Laurie Lee School of reading, I love description and the use of adjectives is important to me. When I bought this book, it promised "Funny, Bold and Memorable" in large letters on the front cover, and had a good write up from the Express and The Scotsman telling me that "it sends jolts of pleasure off the page" and that is is "truly comic and achingly funny".

The story starts with a two page introduction to a murder story, articulately written as a temptation to the reader, understandable and indeed tempting the reader to read more. Then on page 21 the writer starts telling of Effie and her mother, Nora, and the strange mother daughter relationship, and here is where the story begins to lose the readers' interest, as given a backdrop of a peat and heather Scottish island, the book could have drawn the reader into its' complexity, although what it did was show a total lack of respect for the reader, and wandered off into the realms of self indulgent wittering which reminded me of the types of people in life that speak many words and say nothing. Reminded very much of this style of person who uses words in a playful manner that somehow doesn't come off and that people giggle at rather than with, it was with some disdain that I carried on reading the book, knowing from small introductions within its pages that Kate Atkinson has indeed won The Whitbread First Novel Award, and had a critically acclaimed second novel, Human Croquet, published in 1997. I thought that somewhere within the covers of this book would lie wit, and wisdom in the use of the English language, and I wanted to be impressed.

The book is published by Black Swan publications and I wasn't impressed by the quality of the print which differs from chapter to chapter, almost in an attempt to create a "sliding doors" image. I found this an alien way of presenting a piece of literature, and was baffled by it, though struggled on. I suppose that I would relate the experience to that of watching a bad movie, where hope against hope, you believe that there has to be more substance somewhere along the line, and this took me to a chapter describing the lives of students at Dundee University. The descriptions of people were almost as self indulgently cruel as would be used by a selfish inwardly looking author who sees all but the image that presents itself from the mirror, and in a nostalgic way, the times of being a student seem to reflect the author's memory, rather than be sufficiently realistic for a reader to associate with.

I struggled with the 400 pages, and it felt like any attempt at literature was veiled or even drowned by the weight of words that were superfluous and rather akin to private thoughts of an author talking to herself, rather than convincing me of the story's merits. The use of the word "Fuck" for example was mildly out of place, and reminded me of well spoken people that use the word for effect, but fail. It was indeed a hard read, though something made me stick with it, almost like the viewer who sticks with a bad film, wanting more and believing that somewhere amongst the scenes that were wasted moments, there had to be a purpose. There wasn't. In fact, the book struggles hopelessly with its' storyline, characters that could have been strong weaken under the pen of the author, in her seemingly incessant need to drown out all purpose and meaning with adjectives that do not work.

Even the simplicity of relationships is dealt with in such a way as to believe that the author wades in fully clad in wellie boots into situations and descriptions of them that leaves the reader unsatisfied and unconvinced, because the words simply kill the atmosphere and even the conviction of the story told. Published in 2000, you are promised memorable story writing and the story itself poses questions along the way such as "why is Effie being followed ?, Is someone killing off old people ?" and "where is the mysterious yellow dog ?", and to be truthful to get the answers to the little mystery that lies within the pages is a journey of dread rather than enjoyment, hoping that indeed the writer will reveal the answers to the questions poised, though she does so in an oblique and weighty manner.

I have read many authors, and this is the first time that I have read Kate Atkinson, and I have to admit it was enough to make me careful about parting with Seven Pounds again. The self indulgence of the author did not pay off, and left me feeling that the only words appropriate to the way in which her mind worked whilst writing the book were the words of the title "Emotionally Weird".

It was an emotionally weird book, that can only be summed up as "twaddle".

ISBN 0-552-99734-X
www.booksattransworld.co.uk

Summary: A waste of talent.